University Of North Carolina Says It Won't Enforce Transgender Bathroom Law

By

Carlos Santoscoy

|
May 31, 2016

The University of North Carolina said
Friday in a legal filing that it won't enforce a law that targets the
LGBT community.

House Bill 2, approved in March,
prohibits transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice
in government buildings, including schools.

The university had previously indicated
that it would comply with the law, prompting two lawsuits over the
school's policy.

University President Margaret Spellings
said in legal filings that the school would not enforce House Bill 2.

“The University has not threatened to
enforce the Act's requirement that the University require individuals
to use the restroom or changing facility that corresponds with their
biological sex, as listed on their birth certificates,” Spellings
wrote. “In fact, I have repeatedly cautioned the constituent
institutions that the Act confers no enforcement authority on the
University or any other entity.”

In a memo to chancellors dated April 5,
Spellings stated that the school would comply with the law:
“University institutions must require every multiple occupancy
bathroom and changing facility to be designated for and used only by
persons based on their biological sex.”

Spellings is asking the court to stay
the proceedings pending the outcome in a similar case in Virginia.